The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug status to Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc’s experimental tumor drug, sending the biopharmaceutical company’s shares up 11 percent in extended trade. The orphan status, which is granted in the United States to drugs that treat diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people, provides a seven years’ marketing exclusivity from the date of approval. The drug, LX1032 or telotristat etiprate, is designed to treat carcinoid syndrome -- a group of symptoms associated with tumors that usually originate from the gastrointestinal tract.
